Plymouth Township - Code Enforcement Department

Township of Plymouth, Pennsylvania (Montgomery County)

city

700 Belvoir Road, Plymouth Meeting, PA 19462

Required

Required

Plymouth Township's Code Enforcement Department exempts roof replacement only up to 25% of the roof in a year. The Code Enforcement Department's sheet "When is a permit required?" (read October 7, 2026, https://www.plymouthtownship.org/?wpfb_dl=540), repeated in its Residential Code Package (revised 04/2022), lists the residential work "considered ordinary repairs and that do not require a permit from Plymouth Township"; the only roof entry is "Replacement of existing roof material that does not exceed 25% of the total roof area performed within any 12-month period," and the list ends: "Any work not listed above requires the appropriate permit from Plymouth Township." A full reroof exceeds that 25% line. The Township Code names no roof work outside the Historic District. Section 5-7 changes the state regulation's residential permit exemptions, deleting Section 403.62(c)(1)(i), (iii), (iv) and (xvii) and rewriting others; those subsections are cited at an earlier numbering of the regulation, and this record has not read the text they deleted. Section 5-5(a) keeps in force Township building code ordinances "adopted by the Township on or before July 1, 1999, which equal or exceed the requirements of the Code"; the Code does not list them and they were not read. In the Historic District, Chapter 7 of the Township Code says "The Building Inspector shall not issue a building permit for any erection, alteration, reconstruction, repair, restoration or demolition of all or part of any building in the District until Township Council has issued a COA," and lets the Building Inspector approve a "minor project" without referring it to the Township's historic review board; a minor project includes "replacing a roof with like materials on a noncontributing building or structure." Under state law, Act 45 says the Act "shall not apply to" "Alterations to residential buildings which do not make structural changes or changes to means of egress, except as might be required by ordinances in effect pursuant to section 303(b)(1) or adopted pursuant to section 503" or to "Repairs to residential buildings, except as might be required by ordinances in effect pursuant to section 303(b)(1) or adopted pursuant to section 503" (section 104(b)(5) and (6)), and of a municipal ordinance that adds to the code, section 503(c) says "An ordinance under this subsection shall not be effective nor enforceable unless subsections (d), (e), (f), (g), (h) and (i) have been satisfied." This record does not decide whether the municipality's requirement is one adopted under section 503 or kept in effect by section 303(b)(1). The Department of Labor and Industry's register of municipal code change ordinances lists one Plymouth Township filing, which "Establishes installation and inspection requirements for small wind energy, geothermal heating / cooling and photovoltaic systems," found in compliance with an approval letter mailed April 5, 2011 and enacted May 9, 2011, with the note "Ordinance challenged on 6 / 8 / 11." In practice, expect the Township to require a building permit for a reroof that replaces more than a quarter of the roof in a year; the Township's pages state no penalty for working without one. Applications are made on the Township's Building Permit Application or through its online permit portal, and the Residential Code Package says "A copy of the signed contract MUST accompany ALL permit applications." Section 5-11 of the Township Code requires contractors to register with the Code Enforcement Department, except those registered with the Attorney General's Bureau of Consumer Protection, who provide proof of that registration. "There is a 48 hour notice for all inspections." The department's telephone is 610-277-4103; its hours are 7:30 am to 4:15 pm, Monday through Friday. Read for this answer: Chapter 5 of the Township Code (Buildings and Building Regulation), Article I in full and Article II, Division 3 (floodplain conservation districts), and Chapter 7 (Historic District) in full; a search of the whole Township Code for "roof" and for "reroofing," which finds roof text only in the Historic District chapter and in zoning, building-numbering and other non-permit provisions; the Code Enforcement page, its permit portal page and document lists, the "When is a permit required?" sheet, the Residential Code Package and the Building Permit Application. No current fee resolution was found on the Township's site.

The 2021 International Residential Code, as adopted by the State in the Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code (UCC). 34 Pa. Code 403.21(a)(7) adopts "The 'International Residential Code of 2021,' except that:" followed by the State's list of exclusions and modifications, effective January 1, 2026 (55 Pa.B. 7701). None of the State's changes touches Chapter 9, Roof Assemblies, or Section R803, Roof Sheathing, so those apply as the International Code Council publishes them. Work on existing buildings is also pointed to the State's existing-building code: "The repair, alteration, change of occupancy, addition and relocation of existing buildings must comply with Chapter 34 of the 'International Building Code of 2021' or with the 'International Existing Building Code of 2021'" (34 Pa. Code 403.21(f)). The UCC is the minimum everywhere in the state: "no municipality may propose or enact any ordinance which is less than the minimum requirement of the Uniform Construction Code" (Pennsylvania Construction Code Act, Act 45 of 1999, section 503(b)). The Act also lists work it "shall not apply to", including "Alterations to residential buildings which do not make structural changes or changes to means of egress" or to "Repairs to residential buildings," in each case "except as might be required by ordinances" kept in force under section 303(b)(1) or adopted under section 503 (Act 45 section 104(b)(5) and (6); 34 Pa. Code 403.1(b)(8) and (9)). The Act defines a repair as "The reconstruction or renewal of any part of an existing building for the purpose of its maintenance." So whether the code's roofing rules reach a given house reroof depends on the municipality's own ordinances. Everything above is Pennsylvania state law, the same in every municipality. Locally, Plymouth Township administers the code itself: Section 5-1 of the Township Code says the Township "hereby elects to administer and enforce the Uniform Construction Code," and the Township's Code Enforcement Department "is responsible for the administration and enforcement of Ordinances regulating building, zoning, land development, housing, property maintenance and existing structures" and "inspects all construction projects." The department is at the Township Building, 700 Belvoir Road, Plymouth Meeting. Section 5-2 adopts the Uniform Construction Code as the Plymouth Township Building Code and makes only the code's blank-filling insertions, including for the International Residential Code that "Table R301.2(1) - Information available from Building Code Official"; Section 5-7 changes the state regulation's permit provisions; nothing in Chapter 5 changes the code's roofing provisions. Section 5-2 of the Township Code adopts the Uniform Construction Code "as amended from time to time" and says that on the Commonwealth's adoption of successor codes, "those codes and the appendixes adopted by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania are hereby adopted," while the Code Enforcement Department's Residential Code Package (revised 04/2022) lists among "the current codes enforced by Plymouth Township" the "International Residential Code 2018"; this record has not read the 2018 edition's text.

Plymouth Township's Code Enforcement Department exempts roof replacement from a permit only up to 25% of the roof in a 12-month period. The Code Enforcement Department's sheet "When is a permit required?" (read October 7, 2026, https://www.plymouthtownship.org/?wpfb_dl=540), repeated in its Residential Code Package (revised 04/2022), lists the residential work "considered ordinary repairs and that do not require a permit from Plymouth Township"; the only roof entry is "Replacement of existing roof material that does not exceed 25% of the total roof area performed within any 12-month period," and the list ends: "Any work not listed above requires the appropriate permit from Plymouth Township." A full reroof exceeds that 25% line. The Township Code names no roof work outside the Historic District. Section 5-7 changes the state regulation's residential permit exemptions, deleting Section 403.62(c)(1)(i), (iii), (iv) and (xvii) and rewriting others; those subsections are cited at an earlier numbering of the regulation, and this record has not read the text they deleted. Section 5-5(a) keeps in force Township building code ordinances "adopted by the Township on or before July 1, 1999, which equal or exceed the requirements of the Code"; the Code does not list them and they were not read. In the Historic District, Chapter 7 of the Township Code says "The Building Inspector shall not issue a building permit for any erection, alteration, reconstruction, repair, restoration or demolition of all or part of any building in the District until Township Council has issued a COA," and lets the Building Inspector approve a "minor project" without referring it to the Township's historic review board; a minor project includes "replacing a roof with like materials on a noncontributing building or structure." Under state law, Act 45 says the Act "shall not apply to" "Alterations to residential buildings which do not make structural changes or changes to means of egress, except as might be required by ordinances in effect pursuant to section 303(b)(1) or adopted pursuant to section 503" or to "Repairs to residential buildings, except as might be required by ordinances in effect pursuant to section 303(b)(1) or adopted pursuant to section 503" (section 104(b)(5) and (6)), and of a municipal ordinance that adds to the code, section 503(c) says "An ordinance under this subsection shall not be effective nor enforceable unless subsections (d), (e), (f), (g), (h) and (i) have been satisfied." This record does not decide whether the municipality's requirement is one adopted under section 503 or kept in effect by section 303(b)(1). The Department of Labor and Industry's register of municipal code change ordinances lists one Plymouth Township filing, which "Establishes installation and inspection requirements for small wind energy, geothermal heating / cooling and photovoltaic systems," found in compliance with an approval letter mailed April 5, 2011 and enacted May 9, 2011, with the note "Ordinance challenged on 6 / 8 / 11." In practice, expect the Township to require a building permit for a reroof that replaces more than a quarter of the roof in a year; the Township's pages state no penalty for working without one. State law sets no square-footage or percentage threshold for roof work; any threshold is set locally. The Uniform Construction Code "does not apply to" "Alterations to residential buildings which do not make structural changes or changes to means of egress, except as required by ordinances in effect under sections 303(b)(1) or 503 of the act" or to "Repairs to residential buildings, except as required by ordinances in effect under sections 303(b)(1) and 503 of the act" (34 Pa. Code 403.1(b)(8) and (9)), and "A permit is not required for the exceptions listed in § 403.1(b) (relating to scope) and the following, if the work does not violate a law or ordinance" (34 Pa. Code 403.62(c)). For houses the regulation adds: "An ordinary repair does not require a permit." Its list of work that is not an ordinary repair names cutting away a load-bearing wall, "The removal or cutting of any structural beam or load-bearing support," changes to a required means of egress, and new or relocated piping, wiring or mechanical work (34 Pa. Code 403.62(d)); roofing is not named. A municipality may require more: under Act 45 section 503(c) it "may enact ordinances pursuant to this section which adopt additional code requirements for alterations or repairs to residential buildings," after a public hearing and after filing the proposed ordinance with the Department of Labor and Industry. These rules concern a "Residential building," which the regulation defines as "Detached one-family and two-family dwellings and townhouses which are not more than three stories above grade plane in height with a separate means of egress and their accessory structures" (34 Pa. Code 401.1). Everything above is Pennsylvania state law, the same in every municipality. Locally, Plymouth Township administers the code itself: Section 5-1 of the Township Code says the Township "hereby elects to administer and enforce the Uniform Construction Code," and the Township's Code Enforcement Department "is responsible for the administration and enforcement of Ordinances regulating building, zoning, land development, housing, property maintenance and existing structures" and "inspects all construction projects." The department is at the Township Building, 700 Belvoir Road, Plymouth Meeting. The department's line for roof work is the one quoted at the start: replacing existing roof material on no more than 25% of the total roof area within any 12-month period is on its list of work that needs no permit, and other work needs one. No Township ordinance read sets a roof threshold.

Two layers at most where the state code reaches the job. Pennsylvania adopts the 2021 International Residential Code without changing its reroofing section, R908 (34 Pa. Code 403.21(a)(7); the State's list of changes names no Chapter 9 section). Section R908.3.1.1 says "A roof recover shall not be permitted where any of the following conditions occur," and the third condition is "Where the existing roof has two or more applications of any type of roof covering." So one existing layer may be covered once, and a roof that already has two layers is torn off to the deck. The same section also bars a recover "Where the existing roof or roof covering is water soaked or has deteriorated to the point that the existing roof or roof covering is not adequate as a base for additional roofing" and "Where the existing roof covering is slate, clay, cement or asbestos-cement tile." The existing-building code the State also adopts, the 2021 International Existing Building Code (34 Pa. Code 403.21(f)), carries the same three conditions in Section 705.2.1.1. These rules bind work the Uniform Construction Code reaches. The Act does not apply to "Repairs to residential buildings" or to alterations that make no structural change, "except as might be required by ordinances" (Act 45 section 104(b)(5) and (6)), so whether R908 binds a particular house reroof turns on that exclusion and on the municipality's own ordinances. Everything above is Pennsylvania state law, the same in every municipality. Locally, Plymouth Township administers the code itself: Section 5-1 of the Township Code says the Township "hereby elects to administer and enforce the Uniform Construction Code," and the Township's Code Enforcement Department "is responsible for the administration and enforcement of Ordinances regulating building, zoning, land development, housing, property maintenance and existing structures" and "inspects all construction projects." The department is at the Township Building, 700 Belvoir Road, Plymouth Meeting. Chapter 5 of the Township Code changes nothing in the code's reroofing provisions, and the department's pages say nothing on roof layers; the department requires a permit for a reroof of more than 25% of the roof in a year. Section 5-2 of the Township Code adopts the Uniform Construction Code "as amended from time to time" and says that on the Commonwealth's adoption of successor codes, "those codes and the appendixes adopted by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania are hereby adopted," while the Code Enforcement Department's Residential Code Package (revised 04/2022) lists among "the current codes enforced by Plymouth Township" the "International Residential Code 2018"; the text above is the 2021 edition's, and this record has not read the 2018 edition's reroofing text.

State rules from the base code, where the state code reaches the job. Pennsylvania adopts the 2021 International Residential Code without changing Section R803, Roof Sheathing (34 Pa. Code 403.21(a)(7); the State's changes to Chapter 8 are to ridge framing and attic ventilation). Lumber roof sheathing follows Table R803.1: over rafters or beams 24 inches apart it must be at least 5/8 inch net thick. Wood structural panels "shall be identified for grade, bond classification and performance category by a grade mark or certificate of inspection issued by an approved agency," and their spans "shall not exceed the values set forth in Table R503.2.1.1(1) or APA E30." For shingles, "Asphalt shingles shall be fastened to solidly sheathed decks" (R905.2.1), and on any reroof "The structural roof components shall be capable of supporting the roof covering system and the material and equipment loads that will be encountered during installation of the roof covering system" (R908.2). These rules bind work the Uniform Construction Code reaches; the Act does not apply to "Repairs to residential buildings" or to alterations that make no structural change, "except as might be required by ordinances" (Act 45 section 104(b)(5) and (6)). Act 45 section 104(b)(5) excludes alterations "which do not make structural changes or changes to means of egress" and says only that "a structural change does not include a minor framing change needed to replace existing windows or doors"; 34 Pa. Code 403.62(d)(2) lists "The removal or cutting of any structural beam or load-bearing support" as not an ordinary repair. Neither names roof sheathing; this record does not decide whether replacing it is either. Everything above is Pennsylvania state law, the same in every municipality. Locally, Plymouth Township administers the code itself: Section 5-1 of the Township Code says the Township "hereby elects to administer and enforce the Uniform Construction Code," and the Township's Code Enforcement Department "is responsible for the administration and enforcement of Ordinances regulating building, zoning, land development, housing, property maintenance and existing structures" and "inspects all construction projects." The department is at the Township Building, 700 Belvoir Road, Plymouth Meeting. Chapter 5 of the Township Code changes nothing in the code's roof sheathing provisions, and the department's pages draw no separate line for roof sheathing. Section 5-2 of the Township Code adopts the Uniform Construction Code "as amended from time to time" and says that on the Commonwealth's adoption of successor codes, "those codes and the appendixes adopted by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania are hereby adopted," while the Code Enforcement Department's Residential Code Package (revised 04/2022) lists among "the current codes enforced by Plymouth Township" the "International Residential Code 2018"; the text above is the 2021 edition's, and this record has not read the 2018 edition's sheathing text.

6% Pennsylvania sales and use tax, with a local tax added on purchases made in Allegheny County (1%) and Philadelphia (2%). On a reroof the roofer pays the tax on the materials and does not add it to the homeowner's bill. The Department of Revenue says: "The Pennsylvania sales tax rate is 6 percent. By law, a 1 percent local tax is added to purchases made in Allegheny County, and 2 percent local tax is added to purchases made in Philadelphia." Roof work is a construction activity: the rule's list of items "presumed to become a permanent part of real estate" includes "Roofing (repairs)" (61 Pa. Code 31.11). For construction activities, "A contractor shall pay tax upon the purchase price ... of all property, including materials, equipment, components and supplies, which he furnishes and installs" (61 Pa. Code 31.12(a)(1)), and the rule's example says the contractor "does not charge sales tax on this transaction to his customer. The contractor may include the tax he must pay in his bid proposal but not as a separately stated item." Apart from limited exceptions set out in the rule, the same holds on jobs for tax-exempt owners: "a contractor erecting a building, repairing a roof, replacing a door for a governmental agency, ... school district, charitable or religious organization, and the like, shall pay tax upon the property which he consumes" (61 Pa. Code 31.13(a)). Everything above is Pennsylvania state law, the same in every municipality. Plymouth Township is in Montgomery County. The Township's permit pages and Residential Code Package say nothing on sales tax.